


Merely Curious

by Ladymanticore101



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Loki - Freeform, LokiXOC - Freeform, OC, angst!maybe, hostage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-07-30 19:57:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20102776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladymanticore101/pseuds/Ladymanticore101
Summary: You know what? Screw what people say make or break a fanfic, this is an unashamed self-indulgent self-insert/oc with my freaking favorite Marvel Villain. So if you don’t like, don’t read. :p but if you do like please review or whatever. :)





	Merely Curious

Merely curious ch 1

You know what? Screw what people say make or break a fanfic, this is an unashamed self-indulgent self-insert/oc with my freaking favorite Marvel Villain. So if you don’t like, don’t read. :p but if you do like please review or whatever. :)

Merely curious  
Ch 1: meetings in the middle of the night

It was a nice day, blue skies spotted with fluffy white clouds. From indoors it looked like a warm day but outside proved to be deceptively chilly. Unfortunately for me, I was outside. In the cold. Waiting for what felt like forever.  
A cold wind whisked past me, playing with my long auburn hair. It carried a few brightly colored fall leaves along with it, one blowing into my mouth. I sputtered, making 'blah, plah" sounds while trying to get it out.  
"Darn wind." I muttered to myself as I removed the pesky leaf. Releasing it to once more chase it’s fellow leaves, not unlike the children chasing each other at the nearby park.  
“Ah, to be that carefree again,” I think to myself as I wrap my favorite green scarf tighter around my neck. It was one of the first things my grandma had taught me to knit and one of the few that actually looked decent. Snuggling down deeper into my scarf as the wind blew harder, I check my phone again. Why wasn't she here yet? Looking down the sidewalks, I sigh as another gust of wind made me shiver.  
Nothing like an English autumn to chill you to the bones. And to think I had always wanted to live here, instead of that small town back in the states. Sunny California was nice but London had always been a sort of siren call for me. The people, the architecture, just everything enthralled, me. I was admiring a particular building that blended some classic English with touches of modernism when I heard someone shouting.  
"Ylva!" A familiar voice called to me.  
"Jane!" I turn and acknowledge my old college friend. We exchange hugs once she reaches me, her hair blowing into my face.  
"Sorry about that." She laughs. Gathering up her hair and throwing it over her shoulder.  
"No problem, looks like everything just wants to get up in my face today." I joke, “how about we get out of this wind?”  
“You read my mind.” Jane laughs and we both walk to the closest cafe and order a hot drink.  
"So how's life been treating you? Are you still single or has miss study-like-crazy finally found a man?" I ask, giving her my old sidelong look. Jane blushes and looks down at her cup of tea. I may have only known Jane since college but it was long enough to know a few of her tells. "I know that face, now tell me before you turn into a tomato." I urge her.  
"I actually, kinda… met a guy." She admits, fiddling with her cup.  
"Oh, when, where? Tell me everything!" I say excitedly, holding my cup of tea to warm my hands.  
"I met him in New Mexico..." She went on to tell me of how she met this guy and had only recently met up with him again. The whole time I was wishing she'd tell me his name, or was she being incredibly vague on purpose? All the same I could tell she's absolutely smitten with the guy.  
"Awe, you should see how you look right now." I poke fun at her, “what’s his name? Does he have a brother by chance?” I question her. Her blush deepens. She opens her mouth to respond but her phone interrupts her.  
"Hold on…" I nod, knowing that specific ring meant it was Jane's mom calling, really it was kinda funny how much Jane had changed yet remained the same, "hey mom. She what? Okay, I'll find someone else. Wait a second," Jane looks up at me, "hey so I know this is sudden but my intern bailed on me so could you house sit my mom's place for a few days?"  
"Uh, sure." Surprised by the sudden request, I accepted without thinking.  
"Thank you, Darcey can be so unreliable." Jane returned to talking to her mom, telling her the good news. I stir my tea absentmindedly, thinking how fortunate it was that I recently got a job working from home. I was currently an editor and I was so happy when the publishing house I worked for offered that instead of an office job. Offices were so boring and stifling. Before the editor job I’d worked for a small survey company and swore that if I ever had to sit in a small cubical and read one more stupid person 'on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being not satisfactory and 10 being very satisfactory how satisfied were you with your insurance?' I would personally throw my computer and then myself off a cliff.  
A sudden glint of something caught my eye outside the window. My easily distractible brain instantly made me look over. When I glanced over, there was nothing there. Maybe I hadn’t been getting enough sleep and was starting to hallucinate but I could've sworn I saw someone turn a corner suddenly, as though trying to keep out of sight.  
"Ylva? Ylva!" Jane brought me back to reality, waving a hand in front of my face.  
"Hmm, what?" I said, returning my attention to her.  
"I said, come on, let's go." She stood up from the table, having already paid for our drinks. I stand, leaving a tip for the waiter. Being obviously American it was habit for me to leave a few pounds, it’s not like everyone turns down free money.  
Jane and I continue catching up as we walk to her mom's home.  
"How's your book coming along?" Jane asks, tucking her wind blown hair behind her ear.  
"Pretty good, I'm surprised you remember." I replied. Truthfully, I’d been trying to write the same chapter for the past month. Cursed writer’s block.  
"Of course I remember, I loved it when you'd let me read what you had." She said, giving my elbow a playful nudge. I hadn't thought someone who loved science so much would like fantasy novels, but that was Jane. Always crashing people’s expectations and blowing their minds. As we continue to talk, a sudden chill that had nothing to do with the wind traveled up my spine. I paused to look behind us but there was only a few kids running across the street.  
"What?" Jane asks.  
"I thought I… it was probably nothing." I said, turning around to continue to the closest underground station. We stop by my flat so I could grab some clothes and some other necessities before continuing on. With another ride through the underground and barely making it onto a bus, we finally arrived at Jane’s parents’ home. Upon our arrival Jane's mom greeted us both with a hug. She'd always been a kind lady, even treated me as one of the family whenever I’d visited. Both Jane and her mom list off everything I need to know in rapid fire: where everything is, what day the plants need watering, and their numbers in case I needed to call them.  
"I'll be fine, go have an adventure." I said as they headed out the door to the awaiting car.  
"Good bye!" They call out the window as they wave.  
"See you later!" I called back from the doorway, waving back as they left. With the still cold wind pushing me back into the house I close the door. The house was now incredibly quiet, but this doesn't bother me in the slightest. My apartment was always this quiet, only the clicking of my laptop and the music from my Ipod breaking it up. I’d gotten lucky and had really quiet neighbors.  
I started settling in, putting my things in the guest room and bathroom respectively. I settled into the soft pillow on the bed and decided to get some work done. Pulling out my laptop I started reading through a draft from work, marking any mistakes or adding annotated comments here and there. I kept going, draft after draft, getting lost in my work. My stomach gave a growl, pulling me out of my working trance. Checking my phone to see how long I’d been working to see a few hours had gone by. I close my laptop and head down to fix myself some dinner while the sun was still up. Jane’s mom had made it clear I was allowed to help myself to anything, especially since she didn’t want it to spoil. I ended up reheating some type of casserole and eating that.  
After that I decided I’d done enough work for the day and wanted to relax, so I found a bag of crisps and filled a bowl with them before going to the living room. Pulling out a blanket, locating the remote and plopping down onto the couch, I bundled myself up, prepared for a nice evening in. Flipping through the channels before coming across one of my favorite live action movies, The Labyrinth. I’d watched this movie so many times I could’ve preformed it as a one person play. I watched, contentedly munching on the crisps. Soon the crisps were gone and my eyelids were feeling heavy. Somewhere around the masquerade scene I drifted off, dreams mingling with the sweet serenade of As The World Falls Down. Dreaming of attending a masquerade and dancing with a handsome masked man.

CLANK! The sudden sound startled me awake. The sun was well gone now, the TV providing the only light, apparently it was an action/horror movie because a silhouette could be seen down the hall making its way up the stairs while menacing music played in the background. I looked around the room carefully, nothing seemed out of place. Looking down as I search for the remote, I see the bowl I'd been using for the crisps.  
“Must’ve fallen off while I was sleeping. Not even the first night and I’m already jumping at shadows," I chuckle to myself, trying to dissipate the eerie feeling I’m getting. I turn off the TV, right as a jump scare happens. It startled me enough to almost drop the bowl I’d just picked up.  
“Come on Ylva, it wasn’t even that scary.” I mutter to myself as I made my way to the kitchen. Tripping over a rug in the hall on my way. That darn thing had always seemed to be trying to kill me. I would've avoided it if I hadn't been too lazy to turn on the lights.  
Still in the dark, I washed the bowl and placed it in the drying rack next to my dinner dishes. I stretch my arms above my head, standing on my tiptoes to really stretch and sighing as my back popped pleasantly. Humming the same song I’d fallen asleep to, I looked out the window at the full moon, noting the frost starting to form on the window pane and along some of the plants in the pot outside the window. I spent a few more minutes looking up at the moon. It had always been such a comfort for me. Where ever I went, the moon was always there, even if masked behind the clouds or hidden by Earth’s shadow.  
Giving one last sigh I decided to go upstairs and get ready for bed. I didn't bother turning on the lights, relying on the moonlight to help me to the door. I pointedly stepped over the rug and suddenly freeze. A shadow of a man stands by the door. I couldn't make out any features through the dark, except that he was wearing a long coat and a hat. I act instinctively. Grabbing the butcher’s knife from its block, I throw it. As though in slow motion it flies end over end through the air until it hits the man with the handle, not the blade. The man falls back as if stunned, that's when I noticed he has no legs, just a long pole with a circular base. I let out a groan of embarrassment and then a sigh of relief. It was the stupid coat stand! I laugh to myself as I retrieve the blade and return it to the kitchen. What had I been thinking, I couldn’t throw to save my life!  
"No more late night action horror stuff," I scold myself as I climb the stairs, “even accidental.” After brushing my teeth and changing into some warm sleepwear I get a sudden idea for the chapter in my story. I hurried back to where I’d left my laptop, flipping it open quickly. Sitting down in the queen sized bed, I type in the password as I work on the story in my head. I type one line and then the idea vanishes.  
"Dang it!" I shout, tossing the laptop off my lap and dragging my hands down my face in exasperation, "why can I never think of how to keep this story flowing?"  
"No idea, maybe you're out of inspiration." A smooth voice replied. For a moment I thought it was in my head, as if I’d finally gone crazy like my aunt Karen always said I would. But then I looked around. A man, a real man not a coat stand, stood just inside the doorway. I could’ve sworn I closed that door. He was tall, slim yet muscular, adorned in some kind of armor. His pale completion was almost translucent, with slicked back black hair that emphasized his sharp face. In the moonlight he practically glowed. He was handsome, drop dead gorgeous in fact, but that didn't really register as much as the fact that there was a stranger in my room.  
"Who are you and how did you get in here? I locked the doors!" I demanded to know.  
"Midgardian locks mean nothing to me, but perhaps you could tell me where I might find Jane Foster? I was told this was her current place of residence." He took a step toward me as he spoke. Barely illuminated by my laptop screen now, he looked menacing. I scramble off the bed, keeping an eye on him at all times.  
"She's gone out, I'm just housesitting for her." I reply, trying to keep cool even though my heart was beating madly in fright. Like a wolf sensing a rabbit's heartbeat, he looked at me with a predatory gaze.  
"What a shame." He says, taking another step.  
“Well I could always tell her you stopped by.” I glance towards the door, just behind him and to the right. If he moved a few more steps towards me and over the bed and I dashed around the bed I might just be able to make a break for it. There was the window but it would’ve taken too long to open. When I refocused on him, he was even closer.  
“I think I’d rather wait for her here. If you don’t mind.” He says evenly, walking around the bed. I make a run for the door, scrambling over the bed just as he lunged. I make it just outside and into the hall before he catches my arm in a vice like grip, his touch cold as ice.  
"Let go of me you bloody creep!" I struggled to get my arm out of his grasp, clawing and tugging at his hand. I continued to scream profanities at him, both English and American swears, hoping one of the neighbors would hear the commotion and call the police.  
"Do shut up, it's not like anyone will hear you." He mocked me in a condescending tone. I turn and punch him in the face, not hard but it shocked him enough to loosen his grip. I yank my arm free and run, still shouting for help. I could sense him right behind me, and my heartbeat speeds up even faster from fear. I could see the front door, I so close, but then… that darn rug. The last thing I saw was the ground coming up to meet me. The fall knocked the wind from me and my eyes shut in pain. As I choked in a breath I look up to see he'd somehow gotten in front of me and was blocking my closest escape. Continuing to gasp I scrambled backwards only to collide with my back to the wall. He stalked towards me, a feral snarl turning up the corners of his mouth. I stood up, preparing to fight, refusing to just be a victim. I swung my right hand to punch him, but he caught it. I swing my left, caught again. He pushed me back against the wall, arms pinned above my head. His eyes cold and calculating in the dark. Like a mouse caught by a snake's stare, I froze. He moved my wrists into a one handed hold. Absolute terror engulfed me as he moved his free hand towards my face. I close my eyes, waiting for a blow, a punch, for his fingers to encircle my throat, a slap, a sudden knife stab, anything! But he didn't, he just brushed a few strands of hair out of my face. Surprised by the nonviolent act, I open my eyes and stare at him. He seems to just be looking at me, his eyes full of curiosity. He ran his hand along my face, sending chills down my spine. At one point he grabbed my chin and tilted my head from side to side.  
"Let me go, please." I say softly, not begging but soft, hoping against anything that he'd listen to my plea.  
"Sssh." He shushed me. His long fingers brush a some of my hair back behind my ear. My breathing hitched, he was being so gentle, yet I knew with one move he could kill me. I'd already felt the strength when he’d tilted my head. He could've snapped my neck right there and been done with it. But he hadn't. As he continued to study me, I studied him. His skin glowed like moonlit frost, accented beautifully with his black hair. Striking emerald eyes examined every inch of my face. After what felt like an eternity he stopped examining my face and just stared into my eyes. At first I wanted to look away, but a sudden burst of courage helped me keep eye contact. He smirked, as if amused. Like I was some interesting animal that had done a trick. A little spark of indignation caused me to even start to struggle in his grip a bit. He soon ended my struggling by painfully squeezing my wrists.  
"Who are you? And what do you want?" I ask again, clinging to that spark.  
"As I said, I'm looking for Jane Foster." He replies coolly.  
"And as I said, She. Is. Not. Here.” I emphasize, “and that doesn't tell me… who you are." I attempted to say confidently, but the last bit betrayed my fear. His smirk grew a little, amused by me? Again?  
"I am Loki, Loki Odinson of Asgard. And who are you?" Loki asked.  
"I'm Ylva Ericson of Chico, California, USA." I replied, thinking about what he said. Loki? Asgard? Hadn't there been something's on the news about this guy?  
"So Ylva where exactly has Jane gone, and when will she return?" Loki asked in that condescending tone.  
"Out of town with her mom, I'm not sure when they'll be back exactly. Even if I did, why would I tell you?" I try again to sound brave, which may not have been the best option. Loki's eyes took on a menacing glint, his hand circling around my neck.  
"I believe you could figure that out." He purred menacingly. Panic flooded my system as his hand began to tighten, torturously slowing down my air intake.  
"I have no idea." I say.  
"I don't believe you." He says, tightening his hold, releasing my hands to grab my throat with both of his. I clawed at his hands, trying to loosen his grip. My vision was starting to go black on the edges. I desperately tried to kick at him, but he had me so closely pinned that I couldn’t get enough momentum.  
"I…don't know… I swear," I gasp. Just as my vision went completely black I felt his hands release me. I fell back to the floor, choking and coughing to get air back into my lungs.  
"Well this complicates things a bit," he says to himself. He started to pace a bit while he talked, muttering softly so I couldn't hear him exactly. My breathing was stabilizing and I figured now might be a good time to leave. Keeping low, I attempted to crawl to the front door. I made it halfway before my left leg was grabbed and I was roughly dragged backwards, hands scraping for a hold on the floor. Loki then put his booted foot on my back to discourage me from trying that again. He continued to talk to himself. I suddenly realized just what he was on the news for, blowing up New York. This guy was a maniac bent on world domination, and according to the death toll he wasn't shy about stomping on people to get what he wanted. So why didn't he just kill me and be done already! What? Was he planning on using me as a bargaining chip when Jane came back? What did he want with Jane anyway?  
"What do you want with Jane?" I asked. He ignored me this time. I angrily tried to shake his boot off to get his attention, but he just increased the pressure until I stopped.  
"Could always use a hostage." I heard him faintly mutter. No way in heck would I be used by him against my friend. A small crazy idea began to form in my mind, it might not work but I really didn't want to be a bargaining chip. I take a breath and push up and to the side with my arms. Then I swung my legs around so they connected with his opposite leg, further unbalancing him. Surprised he falls to the ground. In a moment I’m straddling his torso, hands pinning his arms with my knees.  
"For all that is good in this world answer me! What do you want with Jane?!" I shout at him. He stared up at me, at first surprise crossed his face, then anger, and then he started to laugh. He was laughing at me! "Shut up and answer me!" I demand.  
"You may want to rephrase your demands." He mocks.  
"Just answer the question." I say, growing impatient.  
"Why would a god answer a mortal?" He continued to mock you.  
"Maybe if the mortal had a knife," I pull the blade from his belt, "against the 'god's' throat." I exaggerated the word god in mockery. He clearly didn't take kindly to being threatened. He glowered up at me, but then it slowly turned back into his condescending smirk.  
"You don't have it in you." He says firmly. He was right of course, my hand was shaking as it held the knife.  
"This is getting us nowhere. Here's the deal, I get off you and we go talk this through like civil people?" I offer. He looked at me with a look that screamed, "seriously?" Then he looked like he was giving it some thought.  
"How about…" in a moment he was the one on top of me, with his knife now pressed against my throat, "not." He said. Now I was really scared, cause I could see that he hadn't done that without a price. A faint line of blood emphasized his pale neck. A drop dripping down onto my cheek. He saw it, using his free hand to wipe at the cut. He gently touched the mark, an amused smile crossing his face. He licked the blood off his thumb then pressed it along the wound, seeming to heal it instantly. My eyes widened in shock, this guy was something else.  
"You know… I was planning on leaving and coming back later when Jane returned. But now I think I'll stick around, I'm having far too much fun to leave." He says, pulling the knife away from my neck. I gave an audible gulp. This was not going to end well.

AN: Chico California is a real place, I've never been there I just googled "small towns with warm climates" and it was on one of the lists. If you're from there or been there, good for you! If not, whatever I haven't and I'm still awesome.  
I however have been to London and it was awesome!!!


End file.
